Sites:
Home > Technical Library > Optical Components and Optics > Optical Components > Why Use an Achromatic Lens?

Why Use an Achromatic Lens?

From Edmund Optics Inc.

An achromatic lens consists of two optical components cemented together, usually a positive low-index (crown) element and a negative high-index (flint) element. The additional design freedom provided by using doublets allows for further optimization of performance not possible with singlets. Therefore, achromats will have noticeable advantages over simple lenses.

Achromats are far superior to simple lenses for multi-color ("white light") imaging. The two elements composing an achromatic lens (literally, "a lens with no color") are paired together for their ability to correct the color separation inherent in glass. Having eliminated the problematic chromatic aberrations, achromatic lenses become the most cost-efficient means for good polychromatic illumination and imaging.

Freedom from spherical aberration and coma implies better on-axis performance at larger apertures. Unlike simple lenses, achromats provide consistently smaller spot sizes and superior images without decreasing the clear aperture.

Read the Whole Article
Products & Services
Fresnel Lenses
Fresnel lenses resemble a planoconvex or planoconcave lens that is cut into narrow rings and flattened. If the steps are narrow, the surface of each step is generally made conical and not spherical.
Spherical Lenses
Spherical lenses, also known as singlets, are transparent optical components consisting of one or more pieces of optical glass with surfaces so curved that they serve to converge or diverge the transmitted rays from an object, thus forming a real or virtual image of that object.  This area includes micro spherical lenses as well.
Optical Lenses
Optical lenses are transparent components made from optical-quality materials and curved to converge or diverge transmitted rays from an object. These rays then form a real or virtual image of the object.  This area includes micro lenses.
Circular Variable Filters
Circular Variable Filters Circular variable filters provide linear attenuation of incident light by rotating the filter.
Diffraction Gratings
A diffraction grating uses a substrate with parallel grooves to disperse light into its spectra. Eschelles are included in this area.
Product Announcements
JML Optical Industries, LLC - Custom Optical Assemblies & Components
JML Optical manufactures optical assemblies and components in our US facility in Rochester, NY and with our off-shore manufacturing partners. Our component manufacturing capabilities include spherical... (read more)
Ross Optical Industries - Achromats: Doublets & Triplets
Achromats are chosen because they cancel both chromatic and spherical aberrations. ROSS has one of the largest selections of achromats available in the industry. (read more)
Ross Optical Industries - Micro Achromats
Tiny (less than 5 mm in diameter) lenses, prisms and other optical components used, for example, in endoscopes or borescopes or to focus light from semiconductor lasers and optical fibers. Similar... (read more)
LaCroix Optical Co. - Achromats
Achromats are a specialty at LaCroix Optical Co. Consisting of two or more elements (usually crown and flint glass) bonded together to correct optical aberrations, thousands are manufactured each week... (read more)
Topics of Interest

Glossary A-C Abbe number (also Vnumber) ( n d - 1)/( n F - n c), where n d is the refractive index at wavelengths d = 0.5876 ?m, F = 0.4861 ?m, and C = 0.6563 ?m. Also called V number.

19.6 The Lenses F/2.8 Airspaced Triplet Telescope Objective. At F/2.8, this lens is much too fast for a telescope objective, but it serves as an excellent example of how the higher order...

10.2.3   Optical Components As shown in the schematic, the deformable mirror and lenslet array of the wavefront sensor are strategically positioned conjugate to the eye’s pupil. There...

Introduction In this chapter, we will discuss how we select the proper design form or configuration for both refractive and reflective image-forming systems. We will also consider fold mirrors and...

In this chapter we will guide you through several representative design studies and parametric analyses in order to demonstrate the design process. We will begin with the design, from basic...